I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!

Living in and around the jungle in Costa Rica for "I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!" is amazing in many respects. It's absolutely stunning and beautiful. However, I still have a lot of "city" in me and haven't quite adjusted to the thousands of creatures surrounding me at any given moment. I have a pretty significant fear of snakes, poisonous or not. I was on a last-minute shoot today near the campsite. As I was walking into the heavily wooded area, one of the camera guys notified me to be careful because they had just spotted snakes in a nearby area. An area that I had to pass by on my way into the jungle. Yikes! I was suddenly lightheaded and anxious. How do you carefully avoid snakes? If I see one am I supposed to continue on about my business? Or turn around and walk the other way?

I have a huge amount of respect for the camera and producing crews who are out in the jungle daily shooting segments for the show. They've all seen snakes and for the most part don't seem phased by it. Others working on the show have other fears. Damien, the host, is petrified of spiders, which for me I don't really mind so much. That said, I don't want them on my face. I talked to a press woman who is terrified of bugs. Bugs to me are a nuisance but don't think of them as killing me. I've found several types of critters in my hotel room. I've found small crawly white catepillars. I found a huge flying cockroach. These haven't bothered me too much.

I check under my bed every night to be sure a snake hasn't found a new home. I feel a little crazy doing it but someone on the production team found snakes in her room. Granted it was at another hotel but just the idea of it has me freaked. I can't get the image out of my head. A bunch of us at our hotel have taken blue painters tape and sealed off any gaps under doors in our rooms. I'm sure the hotel staff is laughing at us. I don't mind, I'm not taking any chances.